May 26, 2016 Two Miracles of Russian Love Poetry On the occasion of Pushkin's birthday, we offer a post on the challenge of translating his most famous love lyrics, "Я вас любил," with a bonus look at Innokenty Annensky's "Среди миров." Literature
May 01, 2016 The Man with the Monocle This May is the 125th birthday of one of the greatest of Russian writers. Unfortunately, he saw little of his fame during his lifetime. Literature
April 20, 2016 Piter's Five Must-Stroll Streets (that are not Nevsky) After you finish strolling St. Petersburg's Nevsky Prospect, you'll want to visit these five must-stroll streets in the Northern Palmyra, to get a feel for the rest of the city. Art Culture Literature Travel
April 02, 2016 Katya Everdeenova? No. YA Fiction Set in Russia? Yes. We're seeing a growth spurt in literature for kids and teens set in Russia. That means magic, time travel, and Stalinism all rolled up in one. Culture History Literature Politics
March 19, 2016 Happy Birthday, Gogol and Olesha! Two writers, two different centuries, one number in common. Actually, Yuri Olesha and Nikolai Gogol have more in common than you think! Humor Literature
March 15, 2016 Socialist Realism and Potatoes: The Dmitry Furmanov Story Writer and commissar Dmitry Furmanov died 90 years ago. If you don’t recognize his name, it may be because he’s better known for his character Vasily Ivanovich Chapayev, a Red Army commander who achieved victory via potatoes. Film & TV History Literature
March 05, 2016 Modigliani and Akhmatova in Paris We know comparatively little about the relationship between Akhmatova and Modigliani, but sometimes a few pictures can speak volumes. In honor of Anna Akhmatova's birthday (June 11, old style; June 23 new style), we reprint this essay, originally published in Russian Life, Jan/Feb 2011. Art History Literature
February 04, 2016 Russophile's Bookshelf A few books we have received recently that we thought Russophiles should know about. History Literature Politics
February 01, 2016 8 Sci-Fi Futures That Explain Russia Today In honor of Evgeny Zamyatin's birthday, here are eight Russian sci-fi novels that reveal something about Russia and the world beyond. Culture History Literature Politics
January 29, 2016 Happy Chekhov Day! Today is Chekhov's birthday (he's 156). We celebrate by kicking of several months of Daily Chekhov quotes, and share a few other things... History Literature
January 15, 2016 War, Peace and Cable On Monday, January 18, a new BBC six-part miniseries of Lev Tolstoy's War and Peace comes to American television. Here's your crib sheet. Film & TV Literature
January 14, 2016 Russian Life Book Receives National Award The classic work of Russian journalism, Moscow and Muscovites, by journalist Vladimir Gilyarovsky (translated by Brendan Kiernan), received the prestigious 2015 AATSEEL Award for Best Scholarly Translation into English. History Literature Departments